Beef and Cheese but No Tomatoes
by metaldragons
Summary: One shot in which Tyler sees a side of Josh he didn't know was there.


A/n: Jenna Joseph is a lovely person and this fic in no way reflects who she is. Also, RespectTylerJoseph.

The divorce between Tyler and Jenna didn't take too long after Josh caught her with her legs wrapped around one of the stage techs. What would take long is the memory of that day to fade from his mind. Josh and Tyler were supposed to meet up at another recording studio about a song edit but their flaky producer never showed, meaning the pair arrived back at their hotel two hours earlier. Josh got to the room first and Tyler walked in just in time to hear a crack and see Josh throw a punch at the stranger on top of his best friends wife.

"Josh! What are yo-… Jen?"

Josh turned and watched as the spark in Tyler's eyes falter and fade.

To Josh, Jenna didn't matter anymore, only Tyler. It was always only him. Before he could spend another moment staring at his soon to be ex-wife, Josh pulled Tyler out of the room, with blood starting to pool between his knuckles.

Taking Tyler's hand, Josh led him back to the car and drove to the first empty parking lot he could find, which wasn't too hard in the small town. Hands still tightly clasped together, they simply sat in silence for what seemed like ages with only the soft hum of the radio playing. The intro to _Tear in my Heart_ began to play, and Josh quickly shut off the radio, but not before he felt Tyler tense. Josh could hear his own pulse through his ears, and it took three heartbeats before Tyler broke down.

Josh did all he could, holding him and whispering promises and eventually crying with him, for hours. As they watched the sun go down Tyler became able to speak. He told Josh about how he wasn't too surprised, because things with Jenna had begun to crumble within the last few months, but that he still couldn't believe it. How he didn't know what to do, he didn't know how to feel. How scared he was, and how his first instinct was to tell Jenna about it, but can't anymore. How Jenna was the tear in his heart, and she tore it to pieces.

"We can get through this, no matter how hard it is." Was Josh's only reply.

Even in the dim light, he could see Tyler's numb expression shift to one of confusion.

"We?"

"Of course, silly. You're not going to be alone. You have me. You'll always have me."

Tyler smiled at that, and then he grinned, and then began to laugh. For a moment Josh was worried he had lost it completely.

"Ty? What's so funny?"

"You punched him in the face!"

Josh grinned right back and nodded. "Of course I did."

The two locked eyes, still smiling at one another. For a moment everything was okay. But they both knew that moment wouldn't last very long, and that the following months would be hard on both of them, but mostly Tyler.

They found out that "hard time" was an understatement. Tyler felt his depression creeping up on him again, and Josh stayed with him 24 hours out of the day just in case he had a particularly bad relapse. Jenna was the one who officially asked for a divorce, but they both knew it was because Tyler wasn't able to do that.

The shows helped to distract Tyler at first, but then they became his outlet. He fell even more in love with his music and rediscovered himself and the ways he could fight the shadow of anxiety and depression that seemed to cling to him. It had taken extreme ups and downs but Tyler could say he was over Jenna and he had accepted that she was gone for reasons he couldn't control. Tyler also saw that he had Josh to thank for all of it, because out of everyone he had ever met, Josh stayed right where he said he would.

They were playing a smaller show in a little town in the middle of Oregon on the night of Tyler's "divorce birthday" as Josh put it (because divorce day sounded a bit grim) and it was small enough where they got to talk to a few of their fans after the show in a Q and A section. Most of the questions they had heard before: how does Josh do his hair, what are their favorite songs, would either of them want to have a girlfriend/boyfriend, etc. Then there was a cute redhead who asked Tyler to play the Taco Bell song, and that was a question he hadn't heard in a very long time, but was very happy to oblige. A few of those in the crowd knew the lyrics, and those who didn't could still appreciate the very emotional lyrics of "beef and cheese! Beef and cheese!"

They had wrapped up for the night after that, and just as they were about to leave a voice out of the dwindling group asked, "What happened with Jenna?"

Tyler thought he would freeze up if anyone ever asked him that. Josh was worried too, it was clear in the way he put himself between Tyler and their fans, his hand on Tyler's wrist, mouth half open and about to say something along the lines of "none of your beeswax" (because Josh actually said beeswax). But Tyler didn't feel his heart fall at the sound of her name. He didn't feel anything because of it. All he felt was Josh's hand next to his, and a courage that was rising in his vocal chords.

"She and I just weren't meant to be in the end." Tyler heard himself say, more to himself than anyone.

"But don't give up on love, kids. Love is out there; you'll find the right person even if you have to meet one or two wrong ones."

Although he was addressing the question, his eyes were locked with Josh's.

"We are Twenty One Pilots, and so are you."

Only after they left the small stage and made their way back to the pseudo dressing room did Tyler notice that he had taken Josh's hand. It also took him a moment to realize he didn't want to let go.

"Josh?"

"Yea?"

"Thank you for staying. For being here."

Josh rolled his eyes and scoffed, "I wouldn't leave."

But then he looked down at their still clasped hands, and the amusement in his voice had left.

"I love you, Tyler."

They had said those words to each other millions of times before. But he knew, they both knew that this was different. This was in a way that was much more than friends should feel. And suddenly, everything made sense to him. How protective Josh was and how he would always blush whenever Tyler changed in front of him, and how quiet he was the day of his wedding with Jenna. Tyler slowly released his hand, and at that Josh let out a shaky breath and an apology, turning to leave.

"Josh, wait!"

"No- I shouldn't have- I'm sorr-"

Josh never had a chance to finish, because before he could, Tyler had pressed his lips against his. Josh had imagined what this would feel like, replaying scenarios again and again in his head, but this was so much better than what he could have dreamed. Tyler's lips were soft, but firm on his. Both were too shocked at first to do anything but focus on breathing, but soon Josh began to relax as Tyler snaked his arms around him, vanquishing any fear of this just being a hallucination or a fluke.

But what happened next was unforgettable. Josh had slowly began to shed his skin, revealing the scaly lizard flesh beneath.


End file.
